


Sea Salt

by anodyneAvian



Category: Homestuck
Genre: Abandoned Work - Unfinished and Discontinued, Ambiguous/Open Ending, Drowning, Gen, Possible Character Death
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-07-28
Updated: 2012-07-28
Packaged: 2017-11-10 22:39:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,539
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/471484
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/anodyneAvian/pseuds/anodyneAvian
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Aradia knew she shouldn't be doing this, yet she was. The ocean stretched out in front of her. It was dangerous, but she wanted to see it; to feel it against her skin. However, she knew to be weary of the seadwellers at all cost.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Sea Salt

**Author's Note:**

> This was supposed to have three chapters and be about eridan and aradia but that never happened so... take it as is, i suppose?
> 
> ...its kinda depressing.

Aradia knew she shouldn't be doing this, yet she was. So, there in front of her, lay the expanse of the Ermanian Sea, part of the Gyvol Ocean. It was a bit of a trek from her some country hive in the grassy knolls – past even the city that Sollux resided in – but now that she was here, really here, breathing in the salt crested air, it seem worth the trouble.

The idea to come all the way just to see the ocean has sparked when Terezi got her to start talking to another rust blood. His name had been Tavros, and he been pretty sweet for the most part. They didn't talk much, but sometimes when they did, he would bring up an indigo blood he talked to a lot, one that lived by the ocean and would sometimes even talk about it.

Aradia, admittedly, had a distaste for highbloods but it was within reason. She was at the bottom of course, though she knew not all were terrible. But many were, and it was a pain to act like she respected them. Luckily, she lived in a secluded area, so there were no worries. Any ideas of rebellion or revolution never even crossed her mind.

However, this talk about the ocean, about a place she had only dreamed of seeing due to the hostile sea dwellers that lived there, intrigued her. She had always been the adventurous type in some way and the thought of perhaps enjoying something different was nice. Perhaps, even, she could discover another artifact that would be found no where near her hive!

So, having earlier packed food and money, she headed out for the nearest coast of her home. It took about a day's worth of travelling, but luckily Sollux was kind enough to let her stay with him while the sun was up and shining, so she could get some sleep.

But now she was out in the open. The breeze played with her hair, blowing it all over. Brushing it out of her eyes, she scanned the waves for any sign of danger ahead. When nothing reared its ugly face, Aradia settled down in a nice spot in the sand, clear of litter and driftwood.

Settling down, she took out some of the food she had taken along with her. She ate in silence. There was not a sound except for herself and the waves crashing weakly against the shore. Even the featherbeast cries were far and few between, though a few sea fairing ones could be seen in the distance. 

For once, she felt like she was truly alone. 

At first, such a feeling felt scary, but she started to like it. The quiet serenity was calming. Aradia could practically go to sleep right then and there, in the sand, even without the help of sopor slime. She didn't sleep however, not in the mood for the possibility of having to deal with nightmares. That wasn't something she enjoyed in the least, and right now, it was the last thing she wanted.

The wind picked up in intensity, as she dug out something to snack on. Her lusus was very unhappy about her departure, having cared for her closely for a very long time. That was one of the problems; something, Aradia liked space. She liked a lot of space, and as much as she loved her mother, her lusus was very smoothing; always insisting at being right there by her at all times.

It was comforting when need be, but trips like these were sacred and special. Hopefully, Aradia's lusus wouldn't find some way to get herself killed while her charge was gone.

The waves crashed against the shore with a force stronger than before, stealing the sand for their own. Aradia gave a sound of distaste as she swallowed her food. Many miles away, she could see the gathering of grey storm clouds. There were still off the shore, but with the wind blowing her hair back as it was now, she knew that come sooner or later, the clouds would make their way to where she was.

She finished the rest of her food with haste. Aradia wanted to dip her feet into the water at least once on this trip before the storm came; maybe even try and swim! It sounded exciting enough. 

She stood up daintily. Her face morphed into one of confidence. She could do this. She was going to do this and no one could stop her. It felt nice, she thought, so have some kind of power for once, silly as the situation was. Aradia almost wanted to burst into laughter at her inner thought.

She walked along the sand for a moment, moving closer to the water line; the waves lapped against the sand by her feet, inviting her in for a dip. Aradia slipped a finger into her shoe, taking it off smoothly without sitting down – she didn't want to get dirty, after all. Soon enough, both shoes and her pair of socks where gone. 

She moved closer to the ocean. The feel of the sand under her bare feet was much different than it had been with her shoes. It grated against her skin, sand sticking to her toes. It was please at the same time it was not. She flexed her foot, moving it around as she stood in one spot for moment. So strange...

Aradia finally dipped her feet in the ocean for the first time; cold attacked her senses, icy and suddenly much less inviting as it first appeared. It was cooler than she had been bracing herself for and she almost wanted to get out right now.

However, she pushed on. It couldn't be too bad, she bargained, after all sea dwellers lived in the water. Aradia lifted up her skirt a bit, not wanting it to get watered down with the waves. Wet skirts were no fun, and she knew that. Perhaps, it would have been best to bring something shorter? But revealing clothes had never been something Aradia - or most trolls – liked.

She smiled for the smallest moment. Aradia took in a deep breath of the air, more smells attracting her now. It was beautiful and exotic; something new to her, though not too special for any other people. It was silly but she figured she was silly enough to allow herself to enjoy it for a bit. 

Then, she got a bit of a gutsy idea. Running back to shore she changed into a bathing suit she had purchased on a whim when visiting Sollux's city. It cost more than she would have liked to admit but... she could afford it at the very least.

Slipping it on, Aradia stretched to get use it. It was tighter than she would have liked but it must have been made that way. 

Aradia didn't know how to swim. Not too many lowblood children did. But, she didn't think it seemed too hard. Even then, it looked like fun to try! Plus, it wasn't like she had to go out that deep in the water, right?

Turning, Aradia went back into the ocean; taking each small step one by one the moment she reached the chilled waters of the sea. It took her a bit to get in there, shivering a bit. Some of the water got into her mouth and she regretted that. The taste was terrible. Mentally, she told herself to keep her mouth shut as much as possible.

She dived under the water and wiped off her makeup. It would have helped to take it off before, but she admitted that she hadn't been thinking about that.

Resurfacing with a needing gulp of air, she brushed sea-soaked hair out of her face. While the waves crashed harder than before, she smiled to herself. This wasn't so hard. Aradia could still touch the ground, the water up around her chest. There seemed to be no point into going deeper, but Aradia couldn't have but head out a little bit more.

Not too much, she told herself, just a little bit and I'll be fine. 

But then suddenly her feet weren't planted on the ground, as a powerful wave hit her. She felt something sharp dig into her ankle, pain shoot through. She was pulled under; Aradia's hair billowing around her like a cloud of smoke as she tried to make sense of what was going on. 

Water surrounded her. Barely, she heard the sound of thunder above. The storm had come. The salty water stung her eyes and the only source of light came from above. She couldn't breath. Disoriented, she tried to figure out what was going on. What had her leg? 

This had been stupid, she told herself. She was so stupid. Aradia knew that it had been risky but now she fucked up. Her lusus would be so sad when she wouldn't return. 

_'Someone, anyone, help me,'_ she brought herself to plead for once. Not even a single soul of the dead answered. Her mind was utterly silent.

 _'I don't want to die like this,'_ she thought to herself as darkness took over her vision, _'not here, not now.'_


End file.
